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Hands-On Activities (PDF) Hands-On Activities 1 2 Table of Contents Name of Activity Page Number Astronomy in the Marketplace……………………………………………………………..5 Youth Generate Rules to Govern their Space………………………………………11 Modeling the Universe………………………………………………………………………..13 Cosmic Cast of Characters…………………………………………………………………..21 From Starlight to Image………………………………………………………………………27 Cosmic Survey…………………………………………………………………………………….33 Comets and Asteroids………………………………………………………………………….43 Toilet Paper Solar System……………………………………………………………………47 Group Portrait of the Solar System: Taking Images……………………………..61 Group Portrait of the Solar System: Makign Sense of Images………………67 Telescopes & Light: Hands-On Telescope Activity………………..………………73 Astropoetry…………………………………………………………………………………………81 Tour of the Universe…………………………………………………………………………….85 Group Portrait of the Universe: Taking Images…………………………………….95 Group Portrait of the Universe: Making Sense of the Images………………..99 Light, Color, and Astronomy…………………………………………………………...…107 Filters Puzzler…………………………………………………………………………………...115 Modeling the Earth-Moon System……………………………………………………...121 Moon Phases Activity…………………………………………………………………………125 A Journey through the Universe…………………………………………………….….133 3 4 Astronomy in the Marketplace Reprinted with permission from The Universe At Your Fingertips, A. Fraknoi editor, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Goals Learn about the distinctive names of objects in the universe Become aware of astronomy terms in daily life Activity Overview You will begin asking your group to brainstorm as many items as they can with brand names that are also astronomical terms (This is where you could show the examples such as the Milky Way bar or the Comet detergent package to give the participants a good idea of what you are talking about.) After generating a good list, ask the group to spend the next few days looking around their homes, local stores, and in magazines and newspapers for as many products and business names they can find related to astronomy. Have them bring in any items they can and put them on display in the room. Background This activity was designed to be an introductory activity for anyone with little or no background in astronomy, to peak interest and to begin a discussion using some of the language of astronomy. A key concept is that astronomy has influence outside the field of science. Astronomy actually plays a much larger role in our lives than many people think. We use words like month and disaster (literally “dis-aster,” or “against the stars”), or refer to the days of the week (which are named after the Sun, Moon, and the five easily visible planets), without consciously making the connection to the Moon, the star, or the planets. (Note: In ancient times the passage of time was noted based on the revolutions of the Moon, and so there was a single word menes for both 5 “moon” and “month”) Astronomical terms are also used around the world in advertising, probably in part because of their universal identification and mysterious, exotic, or exciting connotations. Some examples of astronomy terms in various mediums follow: Cars – Ford Taurus, Chevy Nova, Subaru, Mercury Cleaning Products – Comet Sports Teams – L.A. Galaxy, Houston Rockets, Houston Comets, Dallas Stars, Houston Astros Watches – Pulsar Watches Chewing gum – Eclipse, Orbit Health & Beauty Products – Venus Razors Candy – Milky Way Bars, Mars Bars, Starbursts Food & Drink – Sunny Delight, Sun Chips TV shows – Star Trek Movies – Star Wars, Pluto Nash, Meteor Man, Galaxy Quest Preparation Space Required: Large room/discussion space Materials: Several examples of packages/labels/advertisements with references to astronomy (Milky Way bar, Comet dishwashing liquid) Chart paper Preparation time: Activity time: 20 – 30 minutes Gathering of materials and final preparations: Prior to leading this activity, you should have assembled all of the necessary materials, and you will want to have set up the chart paper in the front of the room for taking down the items as the group brainstorms. (If possible, the lists that the participants generate should be left up or should be recorded and given to the participants to keep as the course progresses.) And you should have your example items that have astronomical words in the name to start off the brainstorming. Finally, be sure to review the definitions of the astronomy terms in the vocabulary section at the end of this activity. These terms will come up during discussion. 6 Procedure Discussion lead-in: The allure of astronomy is so strong that many companies have named products after astronomical objects. Begin a discussion on the fascination of astronomy, asking participants to list some common consumer products that have been named after astronomical objects. 1. The facilitator and participants will come up with as many examples of astronomy in the as they can. Show the example items to get the brainstorm going. 2. Lead a debrief, discussing why astronomy terms and ideas are so prevalent in our marketplace and our media. In this discussion of why advertising executives and screenwriters would use astronomy terms as their product name or in their scripts, one can ask the youth, “Do you think that the astronomy topics presented in movies is always accurate to the real science?” 3. Ask the participants to spend the next few days looking around their homes, in local stores, and in magazines and newspapers for as many products and business names they can find related to astronomy. Have them bring in the labels of any item they can and post them on a big sheet of paper. Follow up Participants devise their own astronomically named product. Participants can write and illustrate advertisements for their products. Groups can produce packages or samples of their new products, extolling their virtues, with emphasis on the astronomical terms, images, and ideas they incorporated. Groups can share their products and creative advertising campaigns in a group presentation. Watch out for… Keep in mind that young people will want to talk a lot about favorite movies, plots, characters, etc., and take the discussion away from Astronomy in the Marketplace into an “Our Favorite Show/Scene” discussion. In your discussion with the participants, make sure the conversation doesn’t get too far off topic when talking about TV shows and movies that they know that have to do with astronomy. Talking about science through science fiction is not totally counterproductive in that some of the shows introduce legitimate 7 words and ideas participants would not necessarily come across otherwise. But much of the ‘science’ may be false and misleading, so there is a danger of misconceptions being reinforced by being included in a science after-school program. Many lyrics in popular songs contain references to astronomy terms and concepts. You may want to open up the brainstorm to include terms in songs and song titles—especially if the youth are struggling to name products. Vocabulary astro: A prefix used in English that refers or attaches the meaning of a star or stars, a celestial body or outer space to the name. "Astro" is derived from the Greek word "astron" meaning star. comet: Comets are loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles in the Solar System that orbit the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail — both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus. The nucleus itself measures a few kilometers or tens of kilometers across, and is composed mostly of rock, dust and ice. Comets are nicknamed ‘dirty snowballs. corona: The outer part of the Sun's atmosphere. galaxy, galaxies: A giant collection of gas, dust, and millions or billions of stars Mars: the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. Mercury: The innermost and smallest planet in the solar system (since Pluto was re-labeled as a dwarf planet), orbiting the Sun once every 88 days. meteor: The visible event that occurs when a meteoroid or asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes brightly visible. Milky Way: The galaxy which is the home of our Solar System together with at least 200 billion other stars and their planets. nova: A cataclysmic nuclear explosion caused by the accretion of hydrogen onto the surface of a white dwarf star. Pluto: The second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. Originally classified as a planet, Pluto is now considered the largest member of a distinct region called the Kuiper belt pulsar: Exceptionally small and very dense star (about double the sun’s mass but only a few miles in radius) that is spinning at very high speed. This spinning star emits energy that is seen as pulses as the star rotates. 8 star: A ball of material, mostly hydrogen, in dynamic equilibrium between gravity tending to collapse it and fusion reactions in the core tending to expand it. Our Sun is a star. starburst: A generic term to describe a region of space with an abnormally high rate of star formation. Subaru: Japanese name for Pleiades, stars in the constellation Taurus. The Sun: A star that is the basis of the solar system and that sustains life on Earth, being the source of heat and light. Taurus (The Bull): This is one of the 13 constellations of the Zodiac. Venus: The second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. Useful Websites The Universe in the Classroom: This electronic educational newsletter is for teachers, youth group leaders, librarians, and anybody else who wants to help children of all ages learn more about the wonders of the universe: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/tnl.html 9 10 Youth Generate Rules to Govern Their Space Goals Create a safe and comfortable space that nurtures open conversation, question asking, and feedback.
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